Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-06-05
ABBEY OF kLosrsRNeuseaa.
The Treasure Room and Imperial Apart
ments-Seated on the Throne.

The Treasure Room and Imperial Apart
m~ents-seated on h Throne.
Finally after much waiting and wander
ing UP and down along chilly corridors
and great strong staircases worn with the
monastic tread Of long ages, il occurred
to some of the more commercial menials
that they turn an honest kreutzer. So
one of the more enterprising waylaid q
brother a little more p~rofusely covered
with & lthan his fellows, and obtained
permission to show me the objects of
greatest interest. Several servants ar
ranged among themselves to pass me
from hand to hand, to extract and sub
divide the greatest amount of fee. OF
what / saw l will speak briefly of only
the treasure room and imperial apart
ments rarely visited. These treasure
rooms of converts, churches and abbeys
contain objects OF greater or less SIM
ilarity. There are usually among them
the appliances of Catholic church worship
richly adorned with precious stones, the
skull of some saint blazing with jewels.
In this case it was that of st. Leopold,
the founder of the abbey. The collection
is worth many millions of forms, the
principal value being in great diamonds,
rubies, emeralds and sapphires, many OF
them embroidered on priestly robes,
themselves precious on account of the
sanctity of those who once wore
them. These treasure rooms are jealousy
guarded. You enter by aponderous door
which yields unwillingly to a key as
large as that Of the gate of a mediaval
city. The treasure is ranged round the
room in great cases, each closed with
doors almost rs heavy, which, thrown
open, disclose the objects. the most pre-
cious in show cases covered with thick
glass.
was shown the imperial apartments
by an aged daniel, whose soiled apparel
did not correspond with the enormous
wealth of the abbey. The novel and
striking feature Of her face were two
teeth, which, descending from beneath
the upper lip, projected over the neither
like the tusks of a walrus. They were
two of the pearls that one time had beer
stamens 'twixt the pouted petals'of hei
lips" as a now forgotten American poet
has sung. There was nothing unusually
remarkable in connection with the apart.
ments, except the view across the Dan.
ube through the long series of windows
that lighted them. The polished floors
were more slippery than a skating rink.
and the walls We're ornamented with
paper or with ~frescoes or pictures Of in
different merit.
At the corner, at the farther end of the
long suit, was the throneroom. circular,
lofty and imposing. Its decorations
were Of a higher order. The view from
the windows was superb. l seated my
self on the vacant throne. The witch
smiled approval. Then, quite unex.
pectedly, she emitted a series of shrill
shrieks, that came back in an alarming
volley of echoes from walls and ceilings,
One would have thought ii was the cave
of a sorceress and all the demons wert
bowling in chorus. Before / had fairly
recovered from my establishment she
turned toward the windows. and, ex
tending her skinny hand. executed thu
.gyratory movement of a dervish as she
pointed through each, and repeated me
chemically and simply the words: Weld
ling, L~eopoldsberg, Florisdorf Iedlersdorf,
Jedlersee, Stammersdorf, Bisambergan.
genbrum. They were the names of the
hills OF towns that were in sight or in the
direction indicated. looked back after
I had parted from her in the corridor.
Her tusks were saving the air as she
dropped the kreutzers I had given her
slowly from wrinkled palm into the
other. took a draught of the excellen,
Khretemeuberger wine in the abbey Gel,
lars in al adjoining street, and taking a
last look at the huge imperial crown Of
shining copper that surmounts the chape
tower, descended the hill and made my
way as hastily as possible across the broad
grassy plain to the landing Of the Dan
ube boat.-Austria Cor. San Francisco
Chronicle.